“House of Cards” will return on Netflix for one more season, ending speculation that the sexual harassment scandal that led to the firing of actor Kevin Spacey would also bring an abrupt finish to the critically acclaimed political drama.

The final season will include eight episodes to be shown on the streaming service next year, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said Monday at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York. Mr. Sarandos didn’t say how Mr. Spacey’s absence will be explained on the show.

Co-star Robin Wright, who plays Claire Underwood, wife of Mr. Spacey’s Frank Underwood, is on board for the sixth season.

Earlier this fall, Mr. Spacey was fired by “House of Cards” producer Media Rights Capital. Netflix had also indicated it would not proceed with another season of the show if Mr. Spacey remained involved. After the allegations against Mr. Spacey emerged, Netflix and Media Rights Capital halted production while they evaluated the show’s future; the coming season was already expected to be its last.

In late October, BuzzFeed published a story in which actor Anthony Rapp alleged that Mr. Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance toward him when he was 14 years old in 1986. Other complaints of sexual assault and harassment against Mr. Spacey have since emerged.

In a response to Mr. Rapp, Mr. Spacey said he had no recollection of the incident but said “if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

Media Rights Capital has acknowledged there was an incident involving Mr. Spacey and a “House of Cards” crew member in 2012 that it said was resolved “promptly to the satisfaction of all involved.” Netflix said it had been unaware of the 2012 incident until this fall.

Mr. Spacey is one of several entertainment and media personalities whose careers have been torpedoed by allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.

Last week, “Today” host Matt Lauerwas fired by NBC after a complaint of sexual misconduct was made against him by a female staffer. “CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose was fired last month after a Washington Post story that included several accusations of inappropriate behavior around female staffers at his production company. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was forced out of his production company after numerous accusations of harassment and assault were made against him earlier this fall.